Interview With Ana Spoke
It's #ComedyBookWeek and today I have the pleasure of interviewing Ana Spoke, author of the Isa Maxwell Escapades and the brains behind Comedy Book Week.
Haven't heard of #ComedyBookWeek? Then read this!
And now over to Ana:
Indiot is the sequel to Shizzle Inc. Did you know there would be a sequel while Shizzle Inc was in the early stages?Oh no, I wasn’t even sure I was going to finish the book leave alone write a sequel to it! It all started as a joke for my sister and it was sort of an email soap opera, until I had enough material to think “hey, I may have something here!” I decided to continue the series towards the end of writing Shizzle, Inc—I had so much fun with it, I almost did not want to finish writing the book. I am now thinking of writing a “trilogy in seven tomes”— basically, I will keep writing Isa Maxwell series until it is no longer fun for me.What are the pros and cons of writing a book series?The pros of writing a book series are well known—you get a chance to hook your readers on the first instalment and then they will hopefully get hooked on the story and continue buying the future instalments. The con may be that you might inadvertently be locked into continuing to write the series to please your leaders, rather than expanding your writing skills by trying different genres or different plot lines. This often happens to Hollywood actors who become pigeonholed into playing certain roles.On deciding to write a series, did you plan each book meticulously or did you just decide to see how the ideas came?I have not planned the whole book series, however I do plan each individual book. I am a combination of a “pantser” and meticulous planner, but I allow my characters to dictate where they want to go with the story.How hard is it to keep a main character fresh for more than one book?I have made a conscious decision to allow my protagonist to grow up a little bit in each book. I have also had some trouble with her trying to repeat the same kind of jokes or thoughts she had in the first book, so I had to mercilessly edit them out after the first draft. I am currently writing the third instalment, but it’s actually easier than the second on—partially because I too have grown, as a writer.If a new writer asked for your all time top marketing tip, what would it be?Advertise! Social media is great for getting positive reviews, but you can’t expect it to provide you with the sales after the initial peak, unless you already have a huge presence. I would advise new authors to save their money for a marketing campaign, no matter whether they decide to go a self-published or traditional route. In either case, you will be expected to do most of the marketing, and you will need to have a budget for your project.Writer's block is a nightmare, how do you maintain enthusiasm when writing a sequel?Thank you Ana!
Stay in touch with Ana:
Website
Twitter
BookBub
Goodreads
And grab your copy of Ana's books here:
Shizzle, Inc and Indiot.
Haven't heard of #ComedyBookWeek? Then read this!
And now over to Ana:
Indiot is the sequel to Shizzle Inc. Did you know there would be a sequel while Shizzle Inc was in the early stages?Oh no, I wasn’t even sure I was going to finish the book leave alone write a sequel to it! It all started as a joke for my sister and it was sort of an email soap opera, until I had enough material to think “hey, I may have something here!” I decided to continue the series towards the end of writing Shizzle, Inc—I had so much fun with it, I almost did not want to finish writing the book. I am now thinking of writing a “trilogy in seven tomes”— basically, I will keep writing Isa Maxwell series until it is no longer fun for me.What are the pros and cons of writing a book series?The pros of writing a book series are well known—you get a chance to hook your readers on the first instalment and then they will hopefully get hooked on the story and continue buying the future instalments. The con may be that you might inadvertently be locked into continuing to write the series to please your leaders, rather than expanding your writing skills by trying different genres or different plot lines. This often happens to Hollywood actors who become pigeonholed into playing certain roles.On deciding to write a series, did you plan each book meticulously or did you just decide to see how the ideas came?I have not planned the whole book series, however I do plan each individual book. I am a combination of a “pantser” and meticulous planner, but I allow my characters to dictate where they want to go with the story.How hard is it to keep a main character fresh for more than one book?I have made a conscious decision to allow my protagonist to grow up a little bit in each book. I have also had some trouble with her trying to repeat the same kind of jokes or thoughts she had in the first book, so I had to mercilessly edit them out after the first draft. I am currently writing the third instalment, but it’s actually easier than the second on—partially because I too have grown, as a writer.If a new writer asked for your all time top marketing tip, what would it be?Advertise! Social media is great for getting positive reviews, but you can’t expect it to provide you with the sales after the initial peak, unless you already have a huge presence. I would advise new authors to save their money for a marketing campaign, no matter whether they decide to go a self-published or traditional route. In either case, you will be expected to do most of the marketing, and you will need to have a budget for your project.Writer's block is a nightmare, how do you maintain enthusiasm when writing a sequel?Thank you Ana!
Stay in touch with Ana:
Website
BookBub
Goodreads
And grab your copy of Ana's books here:
Shizzle, Inc and Indiot.
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